It is common practice in the reconstruction of a tooth to provide a post that is inserted into the cleaned-out root canal and then building a core of plastic around this post. A crown is formed on the core that fits against what is left of the tooth. In the past, these posts have been formed in various ways. One construction used involves a post which is formed to have a tapered screw, similar to a wood screw, which is rotatably engaged with the root canal; the difficulties is that it is possible to split the tooth when using such a post. In other cases, the post has been serrated and held in place with cement; the difficulty with this method is that it is necessary (in order to lock the upper portion of the reconstruction tooth in place) that there be an enlargement of some kind at the top of the post and the location of this enlargement always presents a problem, since it is not adjustable. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide apparatus for restoring a tooth, wherein the post is provided with an adjustable enlargement to lock the core in place.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a post for use in tooth restoration which is capable of engagement in an optimum manner with a cleaned-out root canal.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of a reconstructed tooth involving a cylindrical bore in a root canal and having an undercut counterbore associated with it.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a tooth restoration post construction which is simple in construction, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and which is capable of a long life of useful service.
It is another object of the instant invention to provide a dental restoration post in which an enlargement on the post is adjustable, so that it can be located at the centroid of the core on which a crown is mounted.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a tooth reconstruction system in which splitting of the tooth is avoided and in which the core on which the crown is mounted is securely fastened to the remainder of the tooth.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended thereto.